Advanced Technology Ventures' Portfolio Company Optobionics Develops First Artificial Silicon Retinas.Business Editors/Health & Medical Writers WALTHAM, Mass. and PALO ALTO Palo Alto, city, California Palo Alto (păl`ō ăl`tō), city (1990 pop. 55,900), Santa Clara co., W Calif.; inc. 1894. Although primarily residential, Palo Alto has aerospace, electronics, and advanced research industries. , Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--June 30, 2000 First Artificial Silicon Retinas Implanted in Blind Patients this Week; Surgical Team Led by Optobionics CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. Dr. Alan Chow In a landmark medical procedure, the first Artificial Silicon Retina (ASR (Automatic Speech Recognition) Using voice recognition to replace keypad entry for telephone voice menus. Typically used to speak the digits 0 through 9 insted of keying them, ASR systems may be able to recognize a limited vocabulary. See voice recognition and AVSR. (TM)), developed by Optobionics Corporation, an Advanced Technology Ventures (ATV (1) (Advanced TV) An early name for the digital TV standard proposed by the Advisory Committee on Advanced Television Service (ACATS). See ACATS. See also ATV Forum. (2) (Analog TV) Refers to the NTSC, PAL and SECAM analog TV standads. ) portfolio company, was implanted in the eyes of three blind patients this week. All three had lost most of their vision from retinitis pigmentosa Retinitis Pigmentosa Definition Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) refers to a group of inherited disorders that slowly lead to blindness due to abnormalities of the photoreceptors (primarily the rods) in the retina. . The first two surgeries took place at the University of Illinois at Chicago This article is about the University of Illinois at Chicago. For other uses, see University of Illinois at Chicago (disambiguation). UIC participates in NCAA Division I Horizon League competition as the UIC Flames in several sports, most notably Basketball. Medical Center on Wednesday, and the third patient received the implant on Thursday at Central DuPage Hospital Central DuPage Hospital, or CDH, is an independent hospital system located throughout DuPage County, Illinois in the United States. Its primary facility is a 361-bed hospital located in Winfield, Illinois. in Winfield, Illinois. Dr. Alan Chow, President and CEO of Optobionics Corporation of Wheaton, Illinois, led the surgical team, which also included Dr. Gholam Peyman, Professor of Ophthalmology and Co-Director of Vitreoretinal Surgery at Tulane University Medical Center; and Jose Pulido, Professor and Head of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The Artificial Silicon Retina, which contains approximately 3,500 microscopic solar cells that convert light into electrical impulses, was invented by Dr. Alan Chow and his brother Vincent Chow, Optobionics' Vice President of Engineering. "These procedures represent an exciting medical breakthrough at the intersection of silicon technology and health care," said Michael A. Carusi, ATV General Partner and Optobionics Board member. "Innovative advances in the area of medical devices strengthen my belief that medical technologies will once again move center stage with the investment community, further accelerating the development of such cutting edge technologies as Optobionics' ASR." One of three leading investors in Optobionics, ATV is a bi-coastal venture capital firm with strategic investments in promising emerging growth companies in the areas of Internet, communications and health care technology. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion